Operating table lamp



March 18, 1958 F. GNTHER Erm. 2,827,554

OPERATING TABLE LAMP Filed oct. 12, 1954 s sheets-sheet 1 h y] Q l" w n)March 18, 1958 F. GNTHER ETAL 2,827,554

OPERATING TABLE LAMP Filed Oct. 12. 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F 2 7,IyVE/vroxs March 18, 1958 F. GNTHER Erm. 2,827,554

OPERATING TABLE LAMP Filed Oct. 12, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United StatesPatent O OPERATING TABLE LAMP Franz Gnther, Hermann Gnther, and ErnstOtto Seitz, Hanau, Germany Application October 12, 1954, Serial No.461,888

Claims priority, application Germany October 14, 1953 4 Claims. (Cl.240-1.4)

The rpresent invention relates to illuminating devices such as, forexample, devices used to illuminate an operating table.

Such illuminating devices generate a considerable amount of heat, andsince they are located relatively near to the doctors and otherattendants at the operating table, these people are undesirably affectedby the heat of the illuminating device which very often causes prematurefatigue.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide anilluminating device of the above type which does not direct undesirableamounts of heat toward the area illuminated by the device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an illuminatingdevice of the above type which causes the heat generated in the deviceto pass to the top wall of the device rather than the bottom wall sothat the bottom wall, which is directed toward the operating table, willnot cause the space adjacent the operating table to become undesirablyheated.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a structurecapable of accomplishing all of the above objects and at the same timebeing made up f simple and ruggedly constructed parts which are veryreliable in operation and which are very easy to assemble anddisassemble. With the above objects in view the present invention mainlyconsists of an illuminating device which includes a housing having a topwall, a bottom wall spaced from the top wall, and a side wall extendingabout the housing and interconnecting the top and bottom walls thereof,this bottom wall being formed withfa plurality of openings through whichlight is adapted"to pass. An intermediate wall is located between and isspaced from the top and bottom walls, this intermediate wall being xedto the side wall and being formed with a plurality of openingsrespectively aligned with the openings of the bottom wall. A pluralityof reflectors are carried by the intermediate wall respectively inalignment with the openings thereof and are located between theintermediate wall and top wall so that heat transmitted to theintermediate walls from the lamps respectively carried by the reflectorswill not pass directly from the intermediate wall to the bottom wall. Apair of filters are located between each intermediate wall opening andthe bottom wall opening aligned therewith and are connected to andcarried by the intermediate wall so that heat is transferred from thelters to the intermediate wall. A plurality of transparent cover platescover the bottom wall openings, respectively. Finally, a sealing meansis located between the cover plates and bottom wall to preventcommunication between the interior and exterior of the housing throughthe bottom wall openings thereof.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, to

2,827,554 Patented Mar. 18, 1958 gether with additional objects andadvantages thereof, will be best understood from the followingdescription of specific embodiments when read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a sectional elevational View showing an i1- luminating deviceconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic top plan view of the i1luminating device of theinvention with the top wall of the housing removed to show the partstherebeneath; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale of the structure shownat the center of Fig. 1 within the housing of the device.

Referring now to the drawings it will be seen that the structure of theinvention includes a housing 1 made up of a top wall 1', a bottom wall9, and a side wall 30 made up of a first annular portion 30a extendingdownwardly from top wall 1 and a second annular portion 30h extendingupwardly from the bottom wall 9 and fixed to the annular wall 30a. Anintermediate wall 6 is located between top wall 1 and bottom wall 9 inthe interior of the housing 1 and is substantially parallel to thebottom wall 9, the intermediate wall 6 being spaced from the top andbottom walls of the housing 1. Members 6 are distributed about the axisof the illuminating device of the invention, are xed at their bottomends to the upwardly extending periphery of wall 6, and are fixed attheir top ends to the inner face of side wall 30, as shown in Fig. l,and if desired insulating material, of low thermal conductivity, may belocated between members 6' and side wall 30.

The intermediate wall 6 forms a support means for carrying reflectors 4,lamps 5, and filters 7 and 8, the arrangement being such that the heatfrom the lamps and reflectors passing to the wall 6 is not directlyconveyed to the bottom wall 9 which is directed toward the area to beilluminated. Thus, as is evident from Fig. 1, the intermediate wall 6 isformed with a plurality of openings 2 and the reflectors 4 and lamps 5are mounted on the top face of wall 6 respectively over the openings 2so that the light from elements 4 and 5 may pass through the openings 2.The intermediate wall 6 is further formed with openings 50 which allowhot air in the space between bottom wall 9 and intermediate wall 6 topass through the openings 50 to the space between intermediate wall 6and top wall 1. A pair of lters 7 and 8 is located beneath each opening2', the filter 7 being light in color and serving to filter out infrared while the filter 8 may simply be a clear glass. Each pair of lters 7and 8 is carried by the intermediate wall 6, and since the light fromthe lamps 5 passes directly through these lters the latter will becomeheated to a considerable extent. The heat in these filters passesdirectly to the wall 6 which carries the same. The manner in which thewall 6 carries the reectors and the filters is described in detail belowin connection with Fig. 3.

The bottom wall 9 is formed with cutouts or openingsl 2 which arerespectively aligned with the openings 2 and which are of a larger sizethan the openings 2'. The openings 2 are large enough to allow the lightrays to pass freely therethrough without engaging the wall 9 so that inthis way also the wall 9 is maintained cooler than would otherwise bethe case. Transparent glass covers 3 are fixed in an airtight manner, asdescribed below in connection with Fig. 3, to the bottom wall 9 andrespectively cover the openings 2. In this manner the housing 1 iscompletely closed so that the danger of explosion of gases in theoperating manner is avoided in this way.

The housing 1 is carried by the members 20 which are fixed to thehousing 1 and to a stationary support above the housing 1, the members20 being hollow to serve to guide leads to the lamps in the mannerindicated in Fig. 1 and described below in connection with Fig. 2. Whenin use, the bottom wall 9 is directed toward the illuminated area andthe top wall is directed away from the illuminated area. Theintermediate wall 6 prevents any direct heating of the bottom wall 9,and this effect is augmented by the size of the openings 2 in the mannerdescribed above. Thus, the bottom wall 9 can only be heated indirectlyby heating of the side wall 30, and where heat insulation is locatedbetween elements 6 and side wall 30 this very small heating of the wall9 is further diminished. Any hot air in the space between walls 6 and 9passes upwardly through the wall 6 to the space above the same. Theinclination of the filters 7 and 8 adjacent the periphery of the housing1 also causes air heated by these filters to rise upwardly from thefilters towards the top wall 1. Furthermore, the housing 1 when in useis almost always tilted so that the central filters 7 and 8 also areinclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and thus heat rises veryeasily from these lters toward the top wall 1. The heat within thehousing 1 is thus dissipated almost entirely through the top wall 1 tothe space above the housing 1. In this way a minimum of heat is directedfrom the bottom wall 9 toward the illuminated area so that the comfortof the people located at the illuminated area is assured.

Fig. 2 shows the manner in which the retiectors 4 are distributed in thehousing 1. The intermediate wall 6 carries terminals 32 to which thelead 33 is connected electrically, and pairs of lamps are respectivelyconnected to the terminals 32 in the manner indicated in Fig. 2 so thatthe lamps located at the periphery of the housing 1 are electricallyconnected in pairs which are in parallel with each other and each of thepairs of lamps is in series, only the central lamp being connected inseries with the remaining lamps.

Fig. 3 shows how angle members 57 are fixed to and extend downwardlyfrom each reflector 4, these angle members 57 being tixed at theirbottom ends to nuts 57' respectively located over openings of the wall 6through which screw members 55 extend into threaded engagement with thenuts 57. A ring 56 is located about each opening 2 and is formed with abottom ange through which the screws 55 extend so that these screws 55serve to maintain the ring 56 against the underside 0f wall 6. In eachring 56 a plurality of tubular rubber members 54, through which thescrews 55 respectively extend, are located in the manner shown in Fig.3, and each tubular member 54 is formed in a side wall portion thereofwith a pair of grooves into which a peripheral portion of filters 7 and8 extend so that the members 54 support the filters 7 and 8 in thismanner.

Fig. 3 also shows the manner in which each cover plate 3 is carried bythe bottom wall 9. Thus, screw members 52 extend through openings ofwall 9 into threaded engagement with nuts 52 which may be fixed to thetop face of Wall 9 so as to prevent rotation of the nuts 52. Thesescrews 52 extend through openings of a ring 51, respectively and theplate 3 is supported at its periphery on the ring 51. Furthermore arubber sealing ring 53 is located on the top side of plate 3 at theperiphery thereof between this plate 3 and the bottom Wall 9. The outerannular side wall of ring 51 has a width which is less than the totalthickness of plate 3 and ring 53 when the latter is unstressed, so thatclamping of ring 51 to the underside of bottom wall 9 cornpresses ring53 to connect the plate 3 to the wall 9 in an airtight manner. The plate3 and ring 53 are formed with aligned openings through which the screws52 extend.

In addition to being large enough to allow light rays to pass throughthe wall 9 Without contacting the latter, the openings 2, which arelarger than the openings 2', allow the filters 7 and 8 to be easilypassed through the wall 9 for assembly and disassembly purposes,

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also nd a useful application in other types ofilluminating devices differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inlow heat illuminating devices, it is not intended to be limited to thedetails shown, since varions modications and structural changes may bemade without departing in any way from the spirit of the presentinvention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from thc standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. An illuminating device comprising, in combination, a housing having atop wall, a bottom wall spaced from said top wall, and a side wallextending about said housing and interconnecting said top and bottomwalls thereof, said bottom wall being formed with a plurality ofopenings through which light is adapted to pass; an intermediate walllocated between and being spaced from said top and bottom walls, saidintermediate wall being xed to said side wall and being formed with aplurality of openings respectively aligned with said openings of saidbottom wall; and a plurality of reectors carried by said intermediatewall respectively in alignment with said openings thereof and locatedbetween said intermediate wall and top wall so that heat transmitted tosaid intermediate wall from lamps respectively carried by saidreflectors will not pass directly from said intermediate wall to saidbottom wall.

2. An illuminating device comprising, in combination. a housing having atop wall, a bottom wall spaced from said top wall, and a side wallextending about said housing and interconnecting said top and bottomwalls thereof, said bottom wall being formed with a plurality ofopenings through which light is adapted to pass; an intermediate walllocated between and being spaced from said top and bottom walls, saidintermediate wall being fixed to said side wall and being formed with aplurality of openings smaller than said bottom wall openings andrespectively aligned with said openings of said bottom wall; and aplurality of reflectors carried by said intermediate wall respectivelyin alignment with said openings thereof and located between saidintermediate wall and top wall so that heat transmitted to saidintermediate wall from lamps respectively carried by said reflectorswill not pass directly from said intermediate wall to said bottom wall,said openings in said bottom wall being large enough to allow light raysfrom each of said reilectors respectively to pass freely through saidopenings of said bottom wall without engaging the latter so that saidbottom wall is maintained relatively cool.

3. An illuminating device comprising, in combination, a housing having atop wall, a bottom wall spaced from said top wall, and a side wallextending about said housing and interconnecting said top and bottomwalls thereof, said bottom wall being formed with a plurality ofopenings through which light is adapted to pass; an intermediate walllocated between and being spaced from said top and bottom walls, saidintermediate Wall being fixed to said side wall and being formed with aplurality of openings smaller than said bottom wall openings andrespectively aligned with said openings of said bottom wall; and aplurality of reflectors carried by said intermediate wall respectivelyin alignment with said openings thereof and located between saidintermediate wall and top wall so that heat transmitted to saidintermediate wall from lamps respectively carried by said reectors willnot pass directly from said intermediate wall to said bottom wall, saidbottom wall openings being large enough to allow the light rays to passtherethrough Without engaging said bottom wall, so that said bottom wallis maintained relatively cool.

4. An illuminating device co-mprising, in combination, a housing havinga top wall, a bottom wall spaced from said top wall, and a side wallextending about said housing and interconnecting said top and bottomwalls thereof, said bottom wall being formed with a plurality ofopenings through which light is adapted to pass; an intermediate walllocated between and being spaced from said top and bottom Walls, saidintermediate wall being fixed to said side wall and being formed with aplurality of openings respectively aligned with said openings of saidbottom wall; a plurality of reflectors carried by said intermediate wallrespectively in alignment with said openings thereof and located betweensaid intermediate wall and top wall so that heat transmitted to saidintermediate wall from lamps respectively carried by said retlectorswill not pass directly from said intermediate wall to said bottom wall;only one pair of lters located between each intermediate wall openingand the bottom wall opening aligned therewith and being connected to andcarried by said intermediate wall so that heat is transferred from saidfilters to said intermediate wall; a plurality of transparent coverplates covering said bottom wall openings, respectively; and sealingmeans located between said cover plates and bottom Wall to preventcommunication between the interior and exterior of said housing throughsaid bottom wall openings.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,016,474 Wood Oct. 8, 1935 2,019,410 Hallman Oct. 29, 1935 2,080,120Everett May 11, 1937 2,295,863 Paradis Sept. 15, 1942 2,558,964 KlieglJuly 3, 1951

